House Democrats Release Full Text Of Impeachment Inquiry Resolution

House Democrats released on Tuesday the full text of the resolution they plan to vote on Thursday, which would formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

The resolution detailed the next steps to continue the House investigation sparked by a whistle-blower complaint alleging that Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden.

The eight-page resolution laid out procedures for public hearings, amid GOP pressure to stop holding closed-door testimonies. The resolution specifically allows staff counsels to question witnesses for periods of up to 45 minutes per side, Democrats and Republicans.

It also authorizes the publication of transcripts from closed-door depositions held in the impeachment inquiry so far, and permits the Intelligence Committee to make appropriate redactions.

Read: House resolution form… by Fox News on Scribd

The resolution permits Trump’s participation in the inquiry, allowing him or his counsel to “present their case and respond to evidence; submit written requests for additional testimony or other evidence; attend hearings, including those held in executive session; raise an objection to testimony given; and cross-examine witnesses,” according to a fact sheet published by the Rules Committee.

The White House has denounced the resolution, calling the impeachment inquiry a “scam.”

GOP lawmakers and supporters echoed these sentiments, taking to Twitter to denounce the resolution.

Trump’s reelection campaign Rapid Response Director, Andrew Clark, tweeted that the resolution shows a scam because “Lying Adam Schiff [is] still in charge, GOP still has restraints with no guarantee to call witnesses, [and the] White House still has no due process rights.”

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) tweeted Wednesday that “in a court of law, this would be declared a mistrial.”

“This impeachment charade has been a tainted process from the start,” Scalise wrote. “Schiff has spent weeks blocking due process & leaking misleading info to the liberal media to fit his phony narrative. Their resolution codifies this sham.”

Adam Schiff (D-California) is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee and has been helping spearhead the investigation.

“The resolution put forward by Speaker Pelosi confirms that House Democrats’ impeachment has been an illegitimate sham from the start as it lacked any proper authorization by a House vote,” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “It continues this scam by allowing Chairman Schiff, who repeatedly lies to the American people, to hold a new round of hearings, still without any due process for the President.”